Read Between The Frets: The Philosophy of Rock Music

Cursive's Happy Hollow (2006)

Happy Hollow (2006) is Cursive’s fifth full-length album, released after an indefinite hiatus by the band and more than three years after the highly acclaimed The Ugly Organ (2003).  Happy Hollow was forced into a departure from Cursive’s previous sound, as cellist Greta Cohn had announced her departure from the band about one year before its release.  A horn section was introduced to fill the void on Happy Hollow, but in many places it fails to properly fill the cello’s emotionally charged shoes.  Beloved frontman Tim Kasher presents a different sound as well: his signature screams are notably absent throughout most of the album.  Screaming is something that can be done really well or really poorly; for Kasher and Cursive, the screaming felt passionate, adding dimension to heart-wrenching lyrics sung over woeful melodies.  Speaking of lyrics, those are different too; abandoning themes of relationships such as in 2000’s Domestica, which depicts a tumultuous relationship between “Sweetie” and “Pretty Baby,” Cursive instead criticizes oppressive government and stifling religious views - probably the first things anyone would think of to criticize in an album.  The album is also organized into fourteen “hymns” telling stories of the fictional Happy Hollow’s inhabitants, using the Wizard of Oz as an extended metaphor throughout the album.  Put simply, this is not your father’s Cursive.

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Poor Sally Mae

Beyonce Knowles walks onto a silver stage in Las Vegas, Nevada¹ wearing little less than what normal people would call a bra and a mini skirt. Not only that, but she prides herself in shaking (or “dancing” as some may call it) so vigorously that more than half of the cameramen at the show are ready and aiming their cameras at exactly the right angles so as to catch any “extra skin” that might find its way outside of the glorious contraption Beyonce’s stylists call an outfit- oh, it was a wondrous day for these cameramen when Janet Jackson let them have it. 

 Sadly enough, the audience loves the show.  Most men twelve and older think that they have found heaven in the prime goddess, who unlike many of the women they meet on a daily basis, has no problem with “shaking her stuff” right before their eyes. After all, some law only dictated by her paycheck seems to give her a higher status than other women who also wear little-to-nothing and swing their hips in front of people they do not know for money. Meanwhile, young Sally Mae and Lucy Lee stand in front of their TV sets trying to imitate the artist’s moves while chanting “won’t you get me bodied, you want my body” in the hopes that one day they too will be idolized. Little do they know, theirs dreams will only come true if they desecrate their bodies for the sake of popularity. Of course there are decent people in Hollywood, put those who spend the most time in the limelight of controversy and sexuality are the ones who are most popular

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What makes Rock Moral?

Ever since 1956, when Elvis Presley “gyrated” his lower torso on the Milton Berle Show³, Rock ‘n’ Roll’s reputation has declined from a moral standpoint, according to pundits that is.¹ The word moral is in itself ambiguous. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, morality refers to a code of conduct that is espoused by a group or by what a person views as correct behavior.²The definition does not include the views of people who are not part of that group. Likewise it is up to the individual to determine personal moral values. These values are molded by others, but the final result belongs to the individual and the person chooses what to consider moral. In the world of Rock ‘n’ Roll sex, drugs and debauchery are acceptable and even expected pastimes.³Rebellion and instant gratification form the essence of Rock ‘n’ Roll.¹Therefore, according to these tenets, the shenanigans of the rock star are almost compulsory. It is normal for rock stars to live vicariously and it is normal when they challenge authority through their actions. In Rock ‘n’ Roll, standards and morals should not be judged according to the dictates of conventional thinking; the morality of Rock ‘n’ Roll derives itself from what people expect of the rock star as well as the decision that the rock star makes about what is moral.

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Modern rock has many faces—too many to count. Grunge, pop, punk, reggae, indie, progressive, metal, ska; the list goes on. Rock continues to branch off from what has previously been played into new styles that redefine the genre. Two categories mentioned above, ska and punk, have exhibited an unusual behavior which contradicts this trend. Originating in different times and in different places, the two styles have grown together in recent years: spawning what many call the musical genre of “ska-punk.” Beyond the musical fusion, this new style also brought about a joining of ideals from both types of music: the racial unity of Jamaican ska and the political fire of British and American punk. However, while ska-punk began with two fundamental ideologies, it has shifted towards bleakness and escapism—devoid of the strong philosophy of its founders.

In order to examine the philosophy of ska-punk music, it is important to first examine the two genres that came together to form it.

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Doesn't this guy look like fun?

To many, rock ‘n’ roll evokes images of the 60’s.  They imagine hippies preaching of peace and love, well intentioned experimentation with marijuana and LSD, and the protest of a terrible war.  To others, however, rock is a violent culture full of sex, drug addiction and teen angst.  They picture the heavy metal bands of only a few years later.  Even the generic imagery of the peace-loving “hippies” wearing tie-die, bell-bottom jeans, unkempt hair and bare or sandled feet contrasts sharply to the black leather and metal clad rockers.  How can these two completely different cultures both be called rock?  What could possibly hold together these two completely different ways of life that seem to be total opposites?

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